The battle over Stars and Stripes
The newspaper for the American military has long taken pride in its editorial independence. But under the Trump administration, restrictions have been imposed, and the Pentagon's chief spokesman has vowed to rid the paper of "woke distractions."
Updated on: July 5, 2026 / 9:27 AM EDT / CBS News
Stars and Stripes has a front page like no other. On a day when the headlines on other newspapers were dominated by earthquakes in Venezuela and Supreme Court decisions on immigration, Erik Slavin, the editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes, put out a newspaper for the American military, with stories about new tactics involving drones , and service members and families facing food insecurity . "We want to go with something that we know will directly interest our readers right away," Slavin said.
The newspaper is part of the Department of Defense, and its reporters are Pentagon employees. But it has long maintained editorial independence from the top brass. "We're trying to provide independent news for the military community," Slavin said.
An average of 1.4 million people see Stars and Stripes each day – mostly online, although it still puts out a print version overseas, for service members in remote places where access to the internet can be unreliable.
First published during the Civil War, Stars and Stripes was revived in World War I under General John "Black Jack" Pershing, commander of American troops in Europe.
"It was General Pershing who said, we need a paper for American troops overseas, so they know what is going on and have a sense of why they're fighting," said Catherine Giordano. Earlier this year, Giordano, then the archivist of Stars and Stripes, showed us what Pershing had in mind. His message to readers: "The paper, written by the men in the service, should speak the thoughts of the New American Army and American people from whom the Army has been drawn. It is your paper. Good luck to it."